Fish and Crackers
by DarkHeart9397
Summary: Speedy helps Aqualad discover a new favorite snack and both boys begin to discover slowly blossoming feelings for each other. This story actually developed way past what I thought it might so enjoy. Written by Dark Deviant. Rated T for swearing, some drug references, and some sex references. Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Teen Titans characters or Goldfish crackers.
1. Chapter 1

'What is Fish Boy doing now?' Speedy thought to himself as he watched Aqualad glaring up towards the top of the fridge. "What are you looking at?" Speedy asked him, finally exasperated by the odd behavior.

"Oh, just more evidence of the murder of my friends at your hands!" Aqualad turned his glare onto Speedy now.

"Wha-?" Speedy looked up at the fridge, looking for the possible culprit. After a second he noticed the only thing that it could possibly have been. A box of Goldfish crackers. Barely containing a laugh, Speedy got up and strode over to the fridge, grabbing said offending food from the top.

"You mean this Gillhead?"

"Yes that you murderer. And you call yourself a teammate of mine," Aqualad sneered at him.

"They're just crackers," Speedy couldn't contain his chuckle this time as he grabbed a handful from the box. "See?"

Still suspicious, Aqualad slowly crept closer to him, "Crackers? And they aren't made with fish?"

"No, they're completely fish free. Here, try some," Speedy held out his handful of crackers to offer Aqualad some. Aqualad slowly reached for one of the smiling, fish shaped crackers, wishing Bumblebee was here to assure him that Speedy wasn't playing a prank on him.

He gingerly picked up a Goldfish and sniffed it. 'It doesn't smell like fish.' He looked up to see Speedy smirking at him, face turning red from containing his laughter. He slowly put the cracker in his mouth. Chewing it, he realized that he liked the flavor a lot and really hoped that Speedy was telling the truth.

"You still seem skeptical even though you just ate one," Speedy just shook his head before pointing to the ingredient label on the box, "See, no fish." Aqualad looked at the box and once satisfied that Speedy was being truthful, took the box from him and walked over to the couch. "Hey! What are you doing with my Goldfish?"

"I think I just found my new favorite snack," Aqualad smiled at him as he switched on the television and grabbed himself a handful of Goldfish.

Speedy shook his head in disbelief, "Unbelievable."


	2. Chapter 2

"No, I assure you, they're very good." Speedy woke up to the sound of Aqualad's voice and for a brief instant wondered why the Atlantean was talking to himself in his room. Then he remembered that he had been watching a movie in the living room and must've fallen asleep on the couch. He looked around him and saw that the TV was off and he was covered in a blanket. 'He must have done that for me,'

Speedy sat up and lethargically rubbed his eyes, looking around for the ocean dweller. He saw him talking to the fish that he had rescued from the market. "No, there are no fish in them," Speedy heard him say. Speedy chuckled to himself. He secretly thought it was cute when Aqualad talked to fish. "Here, just taste one." Speedy watched as Aqualad crumbled up one of the Goldfish crackers and put it in the fish tank.

"Are you feeding your fish friends your new favorite snack?" Aqualad jumped at the sound of Speedy's voice.

"Goddammit Speedy! I thought you were asleep!" Speedy chuckled as Aqualad once again gained his regal air and composure.

"I was asleep, until your voice woke me up."

"Oh, I apologize for that," Aqualad turned back to the fish.

"It's no big deal, I should get to my bedroom anyway," Speedy failed to suppress a yawn as he walked over to his teammate.

"So should I. I hope you don't mind that I put the blanket on you, you were shivering in your sleep."

Speedy looked up into Aqualad's deep purple eyes and felt his heart skip a beat, "No, thank you for looking out for me."

Aqualad smiled, "Hey, what are friends for. Goodnight, Roy." Speedy was taken aback for a moment, they knew each other's names, but they didn't really call each other them.

"Goodnight...Garth," he was able to get the words out before Garth left the room. Garth turned back and smiled, giving him a small wave before heading to his room. With a smile and a contented sigh, Roy walked up to his room, happy that if Garth thought of him as nothing more, at least he thought of him as a friend.


	3. Chapter 3

'I can't believe I'm doing this for him.' Speedy was in line at the grocery store in Jump City picking up some Goldfish for Aqualad. There was a party at Titans West and everyone was happy to go. When they arrived however, Aqualad got mildly upset when he discovered that his new favorite snack wasn't there. He had said multiple times that it was no big deal, but Speedy wanted him to be happy. So, off he went to the closest grocery store.

"Hey are you..." The cashier stared at him in shock.

"Yeah, sure, Robin whatever. How much?" Speedy tapped his heeled boot with impatience.

"$2.98," the girl now had a goofy smile on her face. Speedy handed her a five dollar bill and waited for his change.

"Here you go sir. Have a nice night," she batted her eyelashes at him and handed him his receipt, change, and a small piece of paper with her phone number on it. Speedy looked at the paper with a raised brow before he shook his head and left. 'Not gonna happen lady.'

Speedy arrived back at the tower to see the party in full swing. Even Prince Fish was letting loose a little bit. Speedy walked up to the dancing Atlantean and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Roy! You're back!" Aqualad spun around and gave the archer a huge hug. Speedy almost dropped the box of crackers in shock.

Garth pulled away from him and looked down to see the box of Goldfish in his hand, "You are amazing, Roy!" Next thing Speedy knew he was being pulled in close again, but this time instead of a hug, he felt the prince's lips meet his. Roy stiffened in shock, unsure of how to react. Before he gained brain function back, Aqualad had pulled away, but not before the other Titans had noticed. The room seemed oddly silent. The music that had just moments ago filled the room with excited teens now seemed to drift hauntingly unnoticed through the room.

"I knew it!" Robin's voice sounded through the emptiness, "I knew it would happen! You two have always made eyes for each other!"

Garth rolled his eyes, "Geez, Robin, it was just a kiss between friends. It's an extremely common practice in Atlantis." Speedy now looked down at his hands awkwardly. He could feel his face growing hot from embarrassment, anger, and resentment towards the ocean dweller for not feeling something in the kiss.

"Oh, um..." Robin awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, "never mind then." The Titans all shrugged and went back to dancing and talking. Aqualad turned around to talk to Speedy only to see that he wasn't there anymore. He looked around and determined that he wasn't in the main room so he went to search for him in the halls.

On the roof of Titans Tower, Speedy found himself trying to figure out everything that was going on with him. He always said he never cared if someone didn't like him, but this was different. He had grown to truly care for Garth, as more that just a friend, and even though before he thought he would be okay with being just friends with the prince, now he wasn't so sure he could handle the heartache. 'That's what you get for falling in live with a prince Roy. He was probably taught from a young age that he needed to like girls so he could have an heir.'

"Ahem," Roy jumped when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him, "May I join you?"

Roy turned to see the very person he was brooding about, "It's a free country," Roy shrugged and turned back to look at the ocean. Garth sat down beside him, legs dangling over the edge of the roof.

It was a few moments before Garth broke the silence, "I'm sorry about the kiss. I don't know what came over me. I guess the whole party atmosphere just made me let go of all my caution."

Roy shook his head and chuckled, "Why are you apologizing about a kiss? What's a kiss between two friends?" Roy choked on the word 'friends'. "You know what's funny? I wasn't upset about the kiss at all."

"But you're upset about something," Garth furrowed his brow in concern.

"Yeah, what you said after. I was beginning to hope...never mind." Roy turned his head away from Garth, feeling his eyes burn with unshed tears.

Garth gingerly put his hand on top of Roy's, "I only said that because I didn't think you would want them teasing us all night long. The kiss was...well, it was meaningful to me. I really care for you Roy." Garth took Roy's chin in his hand and turned the archer to face him before slowly peeling off his mask and looking into his green eyes. He gently pulled Roy closer to him and pressed his lips to the other boy's. Roy relaxed into to kiss, sighing contentedly. When the two pulled away, both were smirking.

"So," Roy spoke up, "how do you think everyone's going to react?"

Garth chuckled, remembering Robin's outburst earlier, "I have a feeling some of them are going to be a little bit richer."


	4. Chapter 4

"I hope you enjoyed today," Garth asked the redhead beside him hopefully. It was Speedy's birthday and Aqualad had decided to take him out for a nice romantic outing to celebrate. They had been dating for a couple of months, but had yet to tell the other Titans about it.

"It was amazing. How'd I get lucky enough to snag a guy like you," Roy looked at Garth and smiled, his green eyes shimmering with unspoken love. He leaned in and kissed the dark haired man deeply before turning back to open the tower door.

They rode in a comfortable silence up the elevator to the living room for a few seconds before Roy grabbed Garth and began making out with him. Garth's arms snaked around the archer's waist as he pulled him closer, their kiss becoming more passionate with each second. Chest to chest, Garth pushed Roy into the elevator door and pressed their bodies together, enjoying the feeling of the heaving chest against his own. The elevator dinged and Garth barely had time to stop them from crashing to the floor before the door whooshed open. The couple was greeted by a very dark ops room and Garth reached for the light switch while Roy pressed him to the wall and kissed his naked neck.

The light clicked on and Garth opened his eyes to look at Roy only to find the rest of the Titans staring at them. Most had wide eyed, shocked looks upon their faces while, of course, their oldest and dearest friends all had knowing smirks plastered on theirs.

"Aaagghhh," Garth yelped and quickly pushed Speedy away from him.

"What?" Roy whined, "We hadn't even gotten to the good part yet," his voice turned sultry and he winked at the Atlantean. Garth grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders and turned him around to face the crowd.

"Um...surprise?" Beast Boy shrugged and laughed nervously. Speedy saw the cake in Starfire's hands and knew why they were here before he even read the "Happy Birthday Speedy" banner. There was a table full of snacks and drinks that even included a bowl of the duo's favorite snack, Goldfish crackers. There were balloons everywhere and party games set up. Their team had gone all out with this party. Cyborg had even gotten the disco ball ready for the party.

"Uh, um," Cyborg frantically ran over to the stereo and tried to pick out music, "let's get this party started y'all!"

Robin dodged a CD thrown by Cyborg and looked around at the Titans, "I told you guys so, didn't I tell you? Now pay up," Robin smirked and held out his hand for the money he was owed. As the other Titans groaned and handed him the money, he turned to the two standing by the door, "Happy birthday, Speedy. Oh, and congrats you two." A genuine smile lit up his face.

"Oh please, like you need more money," Kid Flash grinned. Garth and Roy felt a breeze rush by them before they were snapped into a hug without warning, "I'm so happy for you guys!" Wally declared while holding his two friends close, "Robin and I always saw the connection there. Wonder Girl didn't see it, but we did," Wally had a huge grin plastered to his face.

"What in Hades name are you talking about Kid Flush?" Garth and Roy looked up to see Donna walking over to them.

"You never thought they'd be a good couple. Don't deny it Wonder Bread," Wally let go of the couple and looked at her.

"No, I always thought they'd be a good couple, I just didn't think they'd ever get together. There's a difference," she turned to Speedy and Aqualad with a smile, "I'm glad you two didn't let the strange culture here convince you that your love was wrong." She gave them both a gentle hug and a congratulations before going to join the party.

"Well, seems like our oldest friends approve of our relationship," Roy said with a smirk.

"Well of course they do, we did always vow to be family after all. Everyone else? Well that's another story."


	5. Chapter 5

It was movie night for the two eldest boys of Titans East. After their relationship had been "announced" the two claimed the TV every Wednesday night for an in Tower date. Tonight they were watching some action movie with a bowl of Goldfish between them as a starting snack.

Roy reached over to grab a handful of the crackers only to have his hand meet empty air. He looked over and saw Garth holding onto the bowl smirking. "Can I have some Goldfish please?" Roy said raising one eyebrow at the dark eyed man.

Garth pretended to ponder it for a while before moving the bowl to the other side of his lap, "Nope, they're mine." He grinned playfully at Roy.

"C'mon Garth, give me them," Roy reach for the bowl again only to have Garth move it, along with himself, farther away.

"No," the grin grew wider by the second, making it hard for Roy not to smile with him.

"I just want some crackers you crazy fish!"

Garth shook his head at Roy, grin still plastered on his face, "Calling me names definitely won't get you any food."

"Oh, for the love of..." Roy leaped at Garth, tackling him down to the couch and trying to wrestle the bowl from his hands, spilling much of the contents in the process.

Garth couldn't contain his laughter by now, "This isn't very successful food stealing when you're not actually getting any food," his superhuman strength made it so that he wasn't even bothered by Roy's weight on him.

"It's the principle of the matter!" Roy shouted over his boyfriend's giggles, "Why...do you...have...to be...so strong?" He grunted, trying to pry the bowl from the Atlantean's grip.

Garth simply ignored him, grabbing a Goldfish that had landed on his chest and popping it in his mouth, "Mmm," he looked up at the archer and grabbed another cracker before holding it out to him, "want one?"

Roy's eyes grew wide and he sat up so that Garth was no longer completely pinned down, arms crossed and nostrils flaring in anger, "You're infuriating!"

Garth leaned up with a smirk on his face and planted a gentle kiss on the redhead's nose, "Yeah, but you love me for it."


	6. Chapter 6

It was past midnight. The skies over Steel City were pitch black besides the erratic flashes of lighting on the distant horizon. On the roof of the Wayne Enterprises building, there stood two young men, a tall, broad shouldered Atlantean, and a fit young, redheaded archer. They were on midnight patrol together, watching over their city and making sure all citizens and buildings were safe. Now they sat down on the edge of the tall building, taking a short breather.

"Hey, Roy?" The dark eyed Atlantean was the first to speak up as they watched the approaching storm.

"Hmm?" The archer turned to look at his teammate.

"Why do you wear a utility belt?" Roy looked slightly taken aback. He had not expected that sort of question from his boyfriend, it was so simple. "I mean, you fight with a bow and arrows and you carry around a whole quiver full of arrows, it's not like you use gadgets like Robin. So, what's with the belt?"

"Oh, it's just for everyday stuff I may need, like my comb and mirror," Garth rolled his eyes, but allowed him to continue, "snacks. Are you hungry?" Roy pulled a baggy of Goldfish crackers out of one of the compartments and handed it to his water dwelling boyfriend.

"Whoa," Garth took the crackers from Roy and began eating a few absentmindedly while listening.

"And then there's some first aid stuff. Bandages, antiseptic, I like to always be prepared. I've even got stuff to start a fire and build a shelter if I ever get caught out in the woods."

"Wow, you really are prepared," Garth said, looking at Roy with wide eyes.

"Yeah, plus, the belt is stylish," Roy smirked.

"And there it is," Garth shook his head, smiling at his boyfriend's vanity.

"What?" Roy looked at Garth, confused.

Garth chuckled, "We should continue our patrol before we get stormed out," he stood up, ignoring Roy's confusion.

"Hey! I'm not vain. Well, maybe a little," he stood up and smirked at Garth.

"Well, at least you can admit it."


	7. Chapter 7

"Ugh!" Roy threw down the bow as he missed the bull's-eye yet again. He knelt to the ground clutching his pounding head as Garth walked through the door rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"Roy? It's so early. What are you doing up?" He reached down to put his hands on Roy's shoulder only to have the archer jerk away from him violently. Garth pulled back in shock at the look of anger and fear in his boyfriend's eyes, "Are you okay?" His voice was soft and soothing as if he was trying to coax an animal out of hiding.

Roy seemed to collapse in on himself as the tears started to fall from his eyes, "Garth, I..." Tears fell to the floor in front of Roy as he looked to the ground.

"Shhh, Roy it's okay," Garth knelt down and put his arms around the man he loved. He felt Roy lean into him and grip onto the T-shirt he was wearing as though it was the only thing keeping him sane.

"Garth, I'm craving them, the drugs. I woke up wanting to shoot up," the tears fell harder as he choked on his words, "I-I'm disgusting! I hate myself," he looked up into the shocked violet eyes of the beautiful man holding him, "how can you even stand to be around me?"

"Roy," Garth grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders and turned him to look at him face to face, but Roy still avoided his gaze, "Roy, look at me." The archer stubbornly shook his head and buried his head in the Atlantean's broad chest. The water dweller sighed and wrapped his arms around the redhead, "Roy, do you remember the very first day I said 'I love you' to you? Not after we were together, before that." Roy furrowed his brow, trying to remember.

_***Flashback***_

The two young boys were trapped. They never should have tried to go on a mission without their mentors, but Robin had been so insistent. For being the youngest of the preteen heroes, he definitely had the aura of a leader. Speedy looked towards Robin, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash, cornered on the opposite side of the room by the hoards of robots, determinedly fighting still. Speedy was down to his last arrow and there wasn't a drop of water around for Aqualad to use as a weapon.

"Speedy," Speedy looked over at his friend, "if we don't make it out of here, I want you to know tha-"

"Is this really the time Aqualad?" Speedy questioned, frantically searching for the area in the crowd that would cause the most damage with his last arrow.

"Yes. I have to say this," Aqualad turned the other boy to face him, "Speedy, I love you."

Speedy's eyes widened beneath his mask, too shocked to say anything. What could he say? Was he taking this the wrong way, it did he really mean 'love'? He looked around to see that the other three were too busy trying to fight off the encroaching robots to see the odd scene that was taking place between the two boys across the room.

**CRASH! **

Speedy turned his head to see the young heroes' mentors bursting through the wall. He wasn't sure which was worse, him being reamed out by Green Arrow for being reckless or staying in this awkward situation. Nonetheless, it seemed as though he had no choice as Aqualad quickly let him go.

Speedy watched as the king of Atlantis blasted through what just a few seconds ago had been their impending doom. Before Speedy knew it, he was being grabbed around the waist by Aquaman and taken out of the room. He looked to his right to see Aqualad tucked under the king's other arm, dejectedly staring down at the floor. Speedy saw a green arrow zoom past them on their way out and knew he would only have it worse if he were Robin right now (who was currently being dragged out by the collar by a very angry looking Batman).

Like Speedy expected, the young heroes were grounded from hero duty for two weeks and he'd been grounded from everything fun in normal life for a month. He sighed as he walked to meet Green Arrow at the transport pads.

"Hey," Speedy jumped at the sudden voice beside him and looked over to see Aqualad, probably the last person he wanted to see right now.

"Oh, uh, hi." He scratched the back of his neck, looking anywhere but into his friend's eyes.

"Um, about earlier," Aqualad kicked at the floor with his toe, unsure of what to say.

"Hey, uh, no need to explain. I, uh, love you too buddy," he plastered a smile on his face and patted his friends on the shoulder, "as a friend of course, I mean, well, you know."

"Oh, yeah...well that's what I meant. I love you as a friend. Always got your back haha." Aqualad coughed into the awkward silence that ensued.

"Well, I, um, have to go. Arrow's waiting." Aqualad watched as the red clad archer sprinted towards the Watch Tower ops room, cursing his cowardice and stupidity.

_***End of flashback***_

Garth felt Roy nodding against his chest. He pulled the sobbing man away from him and put his hand under his under his chin, tilting his head up to look at him. "Roy, please look at me." Roy finally let his eyes meet the purple gaze, his view blurring as more tears pooled over. "Roy, I love you more than I think you possibly know. When I said that, we were probably only twelve or thirteen, but I meant it even then. That day, when I said I love you, I meant it. And I loved you the next day, I loved you the next week, the next year, hell, I will love you into the next century. Most importantly though, I love you now, through all your ups and downs. I'm going to keep on loving you, no matter what." He smiled at the man whose crying had now slowed, "And I am here for you when you need me. Especially when it has to do with this. I want to help guide you through the darkest valleys that your life pulls you into."

Roy dragged his love back into a hug, "Garth I love you so much. I don't know what came over me this morning, but I think I'm starting to feel better." The two young men held each other on the floor of the training room, the pink light of the rising sun illuminating them.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Garth asked.

"No, I just want to sit here with the man I love."


	8. Chapter 8

'21 years old,' the thought rang through Speedy's mind as he sat on the roof of Titans East tower. The months approaching his birthday, Roy had been contemplating where he was going with his life. These thoughts included his relationship with Aqualad and his life as a hero. Now that he had watched the anniversary of his birth come and go, he honestly felt like he needed to put Speedy to rest and don a new mantle. He pulled out his communicator and initiated a video call to the one person he knew would be up this early even though it was actually 3 hours earlier where he was.

"You've reached Robin."

"Hey," Roy sighed in relief when he realized his assumption had been right.

"Speedy? What's up?"

"Just call me Roy, Dick. No one else is around," he felt like an imposter using the Speedy name, especially when he had learned not too long ago that Green Arrow had a new sidekick named Speedy. He didn't know how Dick handled it.

"You seem really upset. Did you and Garth break up?" Dick furrowed his brows in concern for both of his friends.

Speedy took off his mask with a sigh, "No, we're great. At least for right now," his green eyes glinted with worry, "I can't be Speedy anymore. And I don't think I can be a Titan anymore either."

Dick put his head in his hands with a sigh before taking off his mask and setting it aside, meeting his friend's green eyes with his blue, "I know how you feel. Ever since Jason died I-" His voice caught in his throat as he held back the tears, "I can't put on the Robin costume without thinking of his beaten body," he rested his forehead against the palm of his hand, shaky from unreleased emotions.

"Do you think we need to move on?"

Dick straightened up abruptly and looked directly into the communicator, "From our current aliases, yes. From the Titans, I don't really know. I always thought this could last forever when it began. Once a Titan, always a Titan," he glanced away from the screen, sadness written on his face.

"But maybe the whole constantly being on a team thing isn't right for us at our stage in life. I mean, don't get me wrong, I will always be a Titan, but sometimes you have to let things go."

"Let it go," Dick looked at the screen as realization dawned in his face, "or change it."

"Huh?"

"Look at how the Justice League is ran. They're a part of the team, but they're individual heroes as well. I mean, that's sort of what we want right? We want to be solo, but we don't want to lose our teams either, especially not Garth and Kori."

Roy's eyes widened, "Do you think that could work? Being more like the League?"

"We can try. And we can definitely change our names. I saw a piece of paper Beast Boy had left in the library the other day that looked like a list of adult names he could use and he's not even 18 yet. I don't want to still be Robin while he's Changeling or whatever he decides on."

Roy chuckled, "Yeah that would be a little embarrassing."

"And as for the leaving the team part, I just don't want to lose you like we lost Wally," both young men vividly remembered the day when Wally had to take up the mantle of his mentor. The realization had come crashing down on the heads of the five ex-sidekicks that no one was immortal, not even their mentors. Roy knew he didn't want to be Green Arrow (or in his case red, no way was he changing his colors), and he was pretty sure Dick wasn't ready to be Batman. They remembered how devastated Wally was, and how, though still carefree Wally, he now had to burden on his shoulders to live up to the name of the Flash.

"What will our teams think?" Roy thought of Garth and how much he trusted Roy not to abandon him and hoped he wouldn't see it that way.

"Let's just hope they understand," Dick looked up at the sound of an alarm, quickly grabbing his mask and putting it on, "I've gotta go Roy. Call me if you need help with the new identity thing."

"Okay. Same goes for you, Dick. Call me anytime. Bye." Roy sighed as he hung up his communicator, thinking of all the possibilities for him. A light drizzle began to fall from the lightening sky and Roy decided he should go to bed before Bumblebee got up and made him write out reports for her. He quietly snuck back into the tower and back to Garth's room, hoping the Atlantean hadn't noticed his absence.

"Roy?" Roy sighed as he saw his boyfriend's shadow sit up in the dark room, "Where have you been?" He clicked on the lamp on the bedside table, squinting at the sudden light.

"I was hoping I wouldn't wake you up," Roy sat on the edge of the bed.

Garth calmed the waves of the disturbed water in the bed, "Yeah, but you did, so what's going on?"

Roy lay back on the bed, his head resting in Garth's lap and sighing, "I just feel like I can't deal with this anymore," he gestured around the room as though that would answer what 'this' was.

"You want to redecorate the room?" Garth rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"No! The tower, the team! I think I need to move on Garth. I just don't feel like myself when I go out as Speedy anymore. I feel like an imposter when I use that alias."

"Oh," Garth ran his fingers through Roy's hair.

"I just don't feel like Speedy. Especially when there's another one running around out there with Ollie."

"I know how you feel."

Roy looked up at the shadowed face of his love, "You do?"

"Yeah! Do you know how many years I've been running around the surface as Aqualad while there's another Aqualad in Atlantis?"

"Oh right. I remember you telling me about Kaldur." The two sat in a calm silence, Garth combing Roy's hair with his fingers. "I'm changing my hero name."

"To what?"

"I don't know yet, but you can help me figure it out. And I'll help you figure out a new name if you want to."

Garth smiled, "I'd like that."


	9. Chapter 9

"So where will we be going?"

Roy looked over at Garth, "You don't have to come with me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," Roy stood up from the bed in exasperation, pacing at the foot, "maybe you can finally go home without me holding you back."

Garth looked down as he felt tears prick at his eyes, "I can't go back to Atlantis Roy."

"Nonsense. I'm sure Aquaman has forgiven you for leav-"

"NO," Garth stood up from the bed suddenly, startling Roy into ceasing his pacing, "you don't understand. I can't go back. I didn't leave Atlantis of my own volition, I was banished."

Roy looked towards the Atlantean glaring at the wall, "Banished? But you told us-"

"I lied okay? It's humiliating to be kicked out of your own home, especially for something you can't control. And Aquaman doesn't talk about it because it wasn't his idea. He was only following his people's wishes, like any good king would do."

"But, what about you? Weren't you a prince? And you were his sidekick, why didn't he protect you?"

"None of that mattered. To quote a film you once had me watch, 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.'"

"So, when you talk about home, are you still talking about Atlantis?"

"For a long time I thought of the whole ocean as my home, and I still do to some extent, but truthfully, my home is with you Roy. So I'll go wherever you go, as long as there's some oceanfront property nearby," Garth smiled at Roy. It was a smile tinted with anguish and it made Roy's heart ache, "that is, unless you don't want me?"

"I always want you," the archer wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, holding him and trying to rub the tension out of his back.

Garth relaxed and buried his head into Roy's neck, "So, where do you want to go?"

"Somewhere we'll be needed." The two spent the rest of the morning looking up cities by the coast and their crime rates, searching for the perfect city for two heroes to move to


	10. Chapter 10

"Bumblebee, I'm calling a meeting of Titans East and West this Friday. Be sure the three of you are there. Robin out."

Bumblebee, Aqualad, and Speedy flew towards Jump City in East's T-ship. "I still don't get why we were called to a meeting be Robin. Or what the deal is with the outfit change Speedy."

"I guess everything will be explained at the meeting," was the simple answer the red and black clad archer gave her.

"Hmph," Bumblebee turned her focus back to flying the ship, noting the fact that he dodged her second point. Both Garth and Roy had been extremely secretive with her for the past few weeks and now not even the Boy Wonder was telling her what was going on. She knew each team had their own issues, but obviously this was something to do with both teams.

As they approached the Tower, Bumblebee saw Cyborg on the roof waiting for them. Bee landed the ship and hopped out ready to find out what was going on once and for all. "Hey guys," Cyborg greeted them cheerily, "come on in. I've got dinner on the stove."

"Dinner? I thought we were coming here for a meeting Sparky."

"Well, yeah, but there's dinner too," he smiled before going back into the tower, both young men following him excitedly, with an exasperated Bumblebee on their tails.

They walked into the ops room to see Beast Boy casually playing a video game with Raven sitting beside him reading. "Hey dudes," BB paused his game when he heard them come in and turned around on the couch to see them, "long time no see."

"What's up Beast Boy?" Aqualad and Speedy walked over to the couch and sat next to the other couple.

Bumblebee turned to Cyborg, "So where's Robin?"

"He'll be here in a few minutes I'm sure. Said he had to get things ready. We've had guests in the tower for a few weeks now and I bet he's off with them doing something."

"Guests?"

Before Cyborg could answer Bee's query, Robin walked in the room followed by Starfire. At least Bumblebee thought it was Robin, his outfit was entirely different. He was still wearing a domino mask, but his hair was down and shaggy instead of gelled into spikes, and he was wearing a skintight black bodysuit with a blue bird silhouette on his chest. His outfit had neither a cape nor a utility belt. "Hi guys, glad you could make it," he walked to the front of the room and gestured for everyone to take a seat on the couch.

Once they were all seated, he began to talk, "I'm sure you all noticed the new outfit as soon as you walked in," he looked around at the nodding team and a confused stare from Bumblebee, "and Speedy's new look as well."

Beast Boy looked over at Speedy with wide eyes, "Dude! You did change your outfit!" Everyone rolled their eyes as Raven smacked the back of his head.

"Well, anyway," Robin continued, barely containing a chuckle, "I'm not going by Robin anymore. I'm going to be Nightwing from now on. I feel like Robin no longer suits me as a person."

Speedy stood up and waited until everyone's attention was on him, "I'm no longer Speedy. I'm Arsenal."

"And I've decided I can't be Aqualad anymore," Garth spoke up, garnering the room's attention, "I'll be fighting crime as Tempest from now on."

Bumblebee looked between the three of them like they were crazy, "And why in the hell did we have to call a meeting for a change in identity that could have been sent as a message over the communicators?"

"Well, that's not the only reason Arsenal and I arranged this meeting."

"Wait, you arranged this meeting with Shafty?"

"Yes, because he and I have some important news," Nightwing paused and took a deep breath, nervous about how the team would take it, "we've decided to go solo."

"WHAT!?" the shocked voices of Beast Boy, Raven, and Bumblebee were heard in the shout.

Arsenal stepped up to Nightwing, "What he means is that we want to go solo, but we're still willing to do the team thing part-time. We just feel that we have to move on in our lives."

Both Bee and Raven nodded in understanding. Beast Boy looked at Nightwing with wide puppy dog eyes, "You're leaving? To where?"

Nightwing sighed, "I've decided to go to Blüdhaven. They need someone to watch over them. That city is a mess."

"And I'm going with him," Starfire spoke up.

"You're leaving too Star?"

"Yes, friend Beast Boy, but Nightwing says we will always be able to get a hold of each other."

Beast Boy sighed, "I know, it just won't be the same."

"Garth and I have decided to move to Star City."

"Back to Star City?" Nightwing looked at him concerned, "are you sure Roy?"

"Yes, it's right by the ocean, so it's perfect for Garth, and Green Arrow and I have made our amends." Nightwing patted Arsenal on the shoulder, happy that his old mentor was no longer one of the many demons haunting his friend.

"So what now? Mas and Menos left a long time ago to join Timmy, Teether and Melvin after you advised it. I can't be a team of one," Bumblebee shrugged her shoulders wondering if they expected her to go solo too.

"I have that covered," he flipped open his communicator, "Robin, bring everyone up to the ops room now." The team waited for a few minutes before they heard the doors whoosh open and a group of seven people walked to the front to join Nightwing. "Guys, this is Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, Aqualad, Aquagirl, Speedy, and Wonder Girl," they each waved or nodded in turn as they were introduced.

Robin looked similar to the first Robin, but his hair was shorter, and his costume was mainly red and black. Kid Flash also looked eerily similar to the original besides his hair being a darker red and his eyes a greenish gold hue rather than the sky blue of Wally. Superboy looked almost exactly like Superman as a teenager might look and was wearing a black T-shirt with the Superman shield on it and blue jeans. Aqualad had dark skin and pale eyes and wore a red tank top and tight black pants. He held Aquagirl's hand as she stood next to him. She was pale with russet colored hair and aquamarine eyes wearing similar Atlantean clothes to Aqualad. Speedy was a blonde girl. She wore a domino mask, a red bodysuit and a yellow hooded cloak. Finally there was Wonder Girl, blonde, wearing blue jeans and sporting a red T-shirt with the gold Wonder Woman symbol on it.

"Wait, why are their seven of them if there are only six spots to fill?" Beast Boy looked confused as he continued to recount the other heroes.

Cyborg rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Uh, you see green bean, I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

"Not you too Cyborg," Beast Boy's face fell as he knew what was coming.

"I was invited to join the Justice League, and...I accepted."

"But that's totally different from what they're doing! You'll be on a totally different team!"

"Hey, I'll still be living here in Jump. We can hang out all the time. I only won't be available when on League missions or monitor duty at the Watchtower."

Beast Boy sighed, "I'm happy for you tin man, it's just everything is changing so fast."

"Don't worry Beast Boy," Nightwing said softly, "you still have a little while to get used to the changes. We're not leaving until the new team members are thoroughly trained."

"Alright, I guess that's a little better," Beast Boy perked up a little and gave a small smile when Raven put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Booyah! Let's eat. I'm starving!" Everyone laughed as Cyborg ran to make finishing touches on the spaghetti he had made while Beast Boy got up to help him. Starfire and Raven set the table while Nightwing talked with the new Robin, Kid Flash, and Superboy. Arsenal and Tempest watched as the other four approached the Titans East.

"Well, looks like they're our replacements," Garth whispered to Roy.

"Yeah, 'cuz that's not awkward," Roy whispered back sarcastically as he watched his replacement, Garth's ex-girlfriend, and the best friend who had stolen her from him approach. "The only one we don't have some history with is this Wonder Girl."

Bumblebee led most of the conversation between the team and the new recruits, Garth throwing in a few polite words now and then, but the couple couldn't have been happier when they were saved by Cyborg calling them to dinner. They could only imagine how awkward the next few weeks would be with them in the tower.


	11. Chapter 11

Just like Roy had expected, it got pretty awkward at Titans East with the new recruits. Sure talking to Wonder Girl was okay at first, but they ran out of things to talk about past what Roy already knew about Themyscira from Donna since Cassie was not a very open individual.

The four new members also insisted that they were called by their real names instead of their hero aliases. It was easy enough to wrap their heads around, especially since Roy and Garth were still getting used to not being the Aqualad and Speedy of the house. Aqualad, Aquagirl, Speedy, and Wonder Girl all looked at each other oddly when Roy and Garth insisted on being referred to as Tempest and Arsenal by their replacements, especially since Kaldur and Tula knew Garth from before.

The Atlanteans' aversion to being above sea level caused a problem for Garth and Roy. They tended to stay in Garth's room together, but since it was the only bedroom on the bottom floor, and Garth had to be so damn hospitable, Roy was forced to give up his cool, private room. The two had moved into Roy's room, which had been unused for a long time now. With all the things from Aqualad's room in boxes and Bumblebee's room right next door, it made for a very uncomfortable situation of crawling over boxes to do anything and little to no...ahem...physical activity between the two young men. Needless to say, Roy grew more and more frustrated with each passing day.

Team training was made all the more difficult by the awkward silences that would ensue between the three Atlaneans and the archer. Mia would often stare in awe at some of the shots Roy made, either in training or on missions, but Roy was honestly reluctant to train his replacement. Garth was cordial enough to work peaceably with Kaldur and Tula, but for Roy that meant only getting to see formal Garth around, and never the playful side he had come to love so dearly. Bumblebee struggled only with Wonder Girl. She tended to like to take charge and often had to be reminded who the team leader was.

"Uh, Cassie, no offense, but I'm the team leader. You're gonna have to learn to take orders from me or else I'm going to have to call Nightwing up to send a replacement," Bumblebee confronted her after one such instance, hands on hips, frown darkening her pretty features.

Cassie sighed, "Sorry Bee, it's hard for me not to take charge."

"You'll make a good team leader one day, but right now you have to learn to follow orders." Cassie just nodded in response, looking down at the ground. Her commanding personality had disappeared for the moment.

Kaldur had a calm attitude that it seemed was the norm amongst Atlanteans. The encounters between him and Garth riled Roy up more than it would have if Kaldur outright punched his boyfriend. It constantly seemed like they were having a 'who's more refined' contest. In Roy's opinion, Garth always won. He held himself taller and prouder, but that might just be because he was his boyfriend.

The most maddening conversations took place between the two Aquaman sidekicks. Once Garth and Roy were walking hand in hand out of the training room, when Kaldur and Tula quickly approached and stepped in front of the exit on them.

"Good evening Gar- I mean, Tempest. I trust you thought today's exercises went well?" Kaldur stood with perfect posture. Roy wondered how they could stand like that constantly.

He felt Garth stiffen beside him when he looked down at Tula and Kaldur's intertwined fingers, "Yes, I feel as though your teamwork skills have improved greatly Aqualad. You and Aquagirl are on your way to becoming integral to the team dynamic." Roy kept his eyes on the Atlanteans' straight backs, waiting for either to relax just a little.

"How are you and Arsenal coming along on the packing?"

Garth nodded curtly, "Very well thank you." He knew Garth was trying to get over his past with his two successors, but Roy could tell he was having a difficult time.

"Do you need any assistance?"

"That is very kind of you to offer, but no thank you. We are almost all packed, simply waiting for the team to be able to operate at peak efficiency."

Kaldur nodded once, "Of course. I suppose we will see you two at dinner later?" He and Tula stepped aside, clearing the doorway and bowed almost imperceptibly to the banished Atlantean prince as he and Roy passed. An eye less keen than Arsenal's wouldn't have even noticed the slight dip of their upper bodies.

Garth nodded as he passed by, "Yes. Until then."

That had been awkward for Roy. At least he could say they were truly trying to get past their past, but it was a heavy history between the three of them, and the wounds of betrayal heal slower than most.

Mia, now she was a different story. She looked at Roy with reverence and tried her hardest to learn just by watching him. She actually gave him his space and spoke to him only when absolutely necessary. It was Roy who was struggling, and the problem wasn't Mia herself, it was the fact that she was in contact with Green Arrow. And not just once in a while, they spoke almost everyday. Contrary to what he had told Dick, he and Ollie had not yet resolved their issues. It was difficult for him to get up the courage to call his own mentor. Especially since he now had Garth to add on the buffet of many reasons why Green Arrow probably would never accept him. He didn't know for certain how Ollie would react to the fact that he was in love with a man, they had never talked about that type of stuff, but he really wasn't too keen on finding out.

Garth didn't judge him for obvious reasons. It had been clear by the shocked looks on both Kaldur'ahm's and Tula's faces when they caught them kissing one evening that they had heard nothing about the Prince's relationship with a surface dweller of the same sex, which meant that Garth had not told his own king of his relationship. He wouldn't doubt if all of Atlantis knew by now though with Tula and Kaldur knowing.

"Mia, um, can we talk?"

Mia looked up at him with eyes that looked like a deer caught in headlights, "Was there a problem with my performance today, Arsenal?" The girl looked genuinely worried.

"No, nothing like that, I was just wondering, how's Green Arrow?" Roy picked at his fingernails with his thumb, waiting for her answer.

"Oh, um…he's fine."

"Ah, well, that's good," he looked away, unable to stop fidgeting at the awkwardness of this situation.

"He asks about you," Mia paused as Roy looked at her, "everyday. He asks how you're doing. I'm sure he'd love to talk to you."

"I don't know about that."

Mia put a hand on Roy's shoulder, "He would." She convinced him to talk to Oliver next time she called him, saying that they couldn't avoid each other forever.


	12. Chapter 12

"Green Arrow! Hey!" Roy stood out of the way of the camera as Mia called his old mentor.

"Hey Speedy, how are things going?"

"Great. Arsenal and I are getting along good. He recently taught me how to do one of his trick shots."

"That's great. How is the kid doing?"

"Well, that's the thing; I sort of called so he could talk to you."

Roy watched from the sidelines as Green Arrows eyes widened under his mask, "Well, that's unexpected. Where is he?"

"Right here," Roy stepped into view as Mia quickly left the room, giving the two archers privacy.

Ollie cleared his throat, "Roy, it's been a while."

Roy scratched at his arm nervously, "Yeah, it has."

"How are things?"

Roy walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it, "Good, I'm pretty happy. I'm going solo as you know. Well, sort of solo."

"I heard, as Arsenal. Not sure what you mean by sort of solo, but I'm proud of you. I have paid attention to all your feats with the Titans. You've become a great hero."

Roy let out the breath he'd been holding, "Thanks. I wanted to talk to you about my solo career. I'm planning on moving back to Star City."

"Whoa, I'm honestly shocked Roy. Are you sure the city can handle both of us again?"

Roy chuckled, "I hope so. We already have the down payment on an apartment."

Roy saw the eyebrow raise beneath the green mask Ollie wore, "We? I didn't know you were moving with someone. Is this a friend, or more?"

Roy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Um, it's Garth. You know, Tempest, previously Aqualad?"

Ollie smirked, "So your friend wants to move to warmer oceans, huh? Can't say I blame him."

Roy laughed awkwardly, "He's moving because of me, Ollie."

"Wow, you guys got close being on that team together."

"Uh," the younger archer ran his hand through his hair, "I guess you could say that. Closer than you'd think actually."

Ollie took off his mask and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, "Roy, don't get cryptic on me. I already have to deal with that from Batman, I don't need it from you."

"Okay," Roy leaned forward, on the edge of the couch cushion, "don't freak out, but Garth and I are dating."

There was a moment of silence before Roy jumped at the sharp bark of laughter that came from the blond man, "Are you serious?"

Roy recoiled at Ollie's laughter, "What's so funny?" He crossed his arms and glared at the other man.

"Nothing I just," Ollie erupted in laughter again, barely even able to breath, "I-I can't wait…hehehe…I can't wait for Arthur to find out about this. His face is going to be priceless! Please, when you two tell him, let me know so I can have the camera ready."

"I have been going insane over how you were going to react when I told you and _this_ is what I get?"

"Roy, I don't care if you're gay or bisexual or pansexual or whatever. Everyone deserves to be happy. So where is the sorry fish?"

Roy shook his head in bewilderment, "Hang on, let me get him," Roy turned his head and shouted, "HEY, GILLHEAD! GET YOUR FISHY BUTT OUT HERE!"

Roy watched as Garth walked stiffly into the room, posture straight and head held high. He caught a glimpse of Kaldur'ahm on the other side of the door and knew that they had yet another round of their formality contest. "Yes, Roy?"

The redhead looked at the Atlantean's stoic face and rolled his eyes, "I was chatting with Ollie and he wanted to see you," Roy mouthed, 'I told him about us,' to his boyfriend and got an eyebrow raised at him in return.

"Hello, Green Arrow."

"Please, call me Ollie, Garth, obviously you're more than just another sidekick now. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Garth looked confused, "For what?"

"I'm sorry you got stuck with this loser," Ollie smirked as Roy's face registered his outrage.

"Hey!"

Ollie chuckled, "Only kidding, Roy. But, seriously, you're a good kid, Garth. I know you'll treat this hot head well and keep him out of trouble."

Garth smirked and grabbed Roy's hand, "If only that were possible. I think trouble might be his middle name."

"Not true," Roy pouted, "my middle name is William."

Both Garth and Ollie laughed, "We're only joking, babe."

"Ugh! Is this going to be my life from now on, isn't it?"

Ollie shrugged, "Probably. I have to go; Dinah and I have a date tonight," He grinned, "Call again soon, okay Roy?"

"Will do, Ollie, will do."


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey, ocean dwellers!" The three Atlanteans looked up from what they were currently preoccupied with at the sound of Bumblebee's voice, "Some dolphin just scared me half to death delivering this letter for one of you." Garth shrugged and turned back to the book he was reading, confident that no one from Atlantis would be contacting him. Kaldur walked over and grabbed the note from Bee, reading the Atlantean script on the front.

"Garth, it is for you," Kaldur walked over to Garth to hand him the envelope.

"Garth, you got mail? From Atlantis?" Roy's head shot up from his archery magazine, startling Mia who was reading over his shoulder.

"I-i guess," Garth gingerly grabbed the note from Aqualad, almost as though he was afraid it would blow up on him. He carefully broke the seal, pulling out a postcard sized piece of paper scrawled with what was definitely Aquaman's handwriting. Roy leaned over to look even though it was in Atlantean.

"So, what's it say?"

Garth shook his head, eyes scanning the paper for a second and a third time before finally answering, "It's an invitation. King Orin says there were rumors abound in the Watchtower about me being in a relationship. He's invited my consort and I to a royal dinner."

"Consort?" Roy snorted derisively.

Garth ignored Roy's outburst and continued, "Kaldur'ahm and Tula are invited to join of course."

"What the fuck? A relationship is what suddenly gets you invited back to Atlantis? Who does he think he is?" Roy had stood up and was pacing the floor in front of the Atlanteans.

Kaldur raised his eyebrow at the redhead, "He is our king."

"No! He stopped being Garth's king when he banished him! I can't believe him! The audacity!" Tula and Kaldur stared wide eyed at the furious redhead.

"Roy, calm down," Garth leaned back against the couch, purple eyes calm as he watched the archer pace the room.

"Garth, I am not sure if it is a good idea for him to join the dinner in Atlantis," Kaldur'ahm turned to Garth, his bright eyes filled with worry.

Garth shrugged, "He'll be fine. I just have to give him some time to calm down; then I can teach him Atlantean etiquette."

Roy turned to his boyfriend, fists balled up in anger, "I KNOW ETIQUETTE!"

Garth rolled his eyes, snorting in disbelief, "Maybe surface etiquette, but right now I'm even doubting that."

They heard a chuckle from the other side of the room and Roy whipped around to see Cassie covering her mouth, trying to stifle her laugh, "What are you laughing at, huh?"

Cassie shifted her eyes away from the furious redhead, trying to look everywhere but him, "Nothing!" Mia giggled at Cassie's panicked eyes before being shot a glare from Roy.

Bumblebee stepped in, trying to take control of the situation, "Alright everyone, let's just calm down."

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Roy shouted at Bee before he felt himself being yanked by the elbow towards the stairs leading to the pool, "What the-"

"You need to cool off," Garth looked back at him, purple eyes gleaming.

"What are you doing?" The two stopped at the edge of the pool and faced each other, arms crossed. Garth circled around until Roy stood on the edge of the pool and he was standing behind. Roy turned to face him again, back to the pool. Before he could react, Garth reached out with both arms and pushed the archer into the pool, earning a gasp from the other man and uproarious laughter from the upper level where they had all gathered at the railing to watch what was going on.

Bumblebee tried to catch her breath through her laughter, "Garth, he-he c-can't swim." Garth looked back to Roy, who was currently splashing around in the deep waters of the pool.

"Oh, he's doing fi-" his eyes grew wide as he watched the flailing man go under water on him, "Shit," he sighed and dove in the pool after him, quickly catching him around the waist and dragging him to the surface.

They breached the surface of the water, Roy gasping for breath, "You're a bag of dicks, you know that fish paste?"

"And you need to learn how to swim," Garth lifted him out of the pool before climbing out himself.

"Why? So I can please my in-laws?"

"No, so you don't drown on me."

Roy rolled onto his back and lay there, catching his breath, "I hate you all."


	14. Chapter 14

"So, how long until we get to Atlantis?"

"We'll be there soon," Garth was piloting the blue T-ship through the waters, carrying him and Roy to his childhood home. Tula and Kaldur had chosen to swim so they would arrive before the two as a buffer.

Roy scratched at his arms nervously, "Ugh, I'm not ready for this," Roy reached down by his feet and pulled out his bow and arrows, starting to polish them out of habit.

"Did you really have to bring your weapons?" Garth raised an eyebrow at the archer.

"Never leave home without them," Roy turned back to the tools of his trade as the Atlantean shook his head, "Besides, I feel naked enough going into a possibly hostile environment in civvies."

Garth just sighed in response, turning back to piloting. Roy saw a dim glow in the distance and sunk back into his chair, dreading what was coming soon. "There it is."

The redhead looked at the approaching glowing dome with terror in his eyes, "Yep, there it is."

Two Atlantean soldiers swam up beside the T-sub, escorting them into Atlantean territory. Garth waved shortly to each of them, letting them know it was him telepathically. Voices of his people filled the emptiness in his head that had been there since he moved to the surface. Roy was biting his lip nervously as the landing bay doors for surface dwelling guests opened and Garth landed the vessel and got out before the water had disappeared, swimming over to where Tula, Kaldur, Orin, and Mera were waiting for them to arrive.

Roy watched the water slowly drain from the room, once in a while glancing over to the group of five Atlanteans who were very clearly discussing him. The king's face seemed to show his displeasure, frown getting deeper with each word that passed across Garth's lips. Finally, King Orin and Queen Mera nodded shortly before turning and leaving the room, Kaldur and Tula following.

The archer almost panicked when the dome covering him began raising until he saw Garth's purple eyes looking at him, "C'mon, let's go! They're waiting for us."

"They're unhappy aren't they?"

"What? No! Let's go," Garth held out his hand to the redhead, "Leave the bow and arrows." Roy sighed, putting them back in place under his seat before taking Garth's hand and stepping out of the ship.

"I can already tell this is going to be hell," Roy muttered before Garth dragged him along at breakneck speed to meet up with the rest of the party.

He stopped them outside of a set of large golden doors, turning around and inspecting Roy's outfit, straightening a hemline here and there and brushing dust off his shoulders, "Now, when you officially meet Orin and Mera, bow like I taught you and everything will be alright. He may be Aquaman in the Justice League, but down here he is king." Roy nodded, green eyes wide with worry. "Okay, you ready?"

He gulped, trying to push down his nerves, "As much as I'll ever be I guess."

"Good," with that, Garth turned to the door, which opened abruptly for them, their presence being announced to the large throne room. Roy followed his boyfriend, taking in large thrones at the end of the room that Orin and Mera sat in and the Atlanteans that lined the gilded walls. As out of place as he may have felt, Garth was the one who looked out of place. The other ocean citizens all had lighter hair and eyes and slightly tanner skin. There was not an Atlantean in the bunch besides his boyfriend who had jet black hair or deep purple eyes.

Distracted by his thoughts, Roy had not realized that they had reached the front of the room until he ran into the solid body in front of him. He looked up, seeing Garth's wide, violet eyes as he subtly pulled him by his side.

Garth bowed slightly, like a prince might to a king, "King Orin, Queen Mera, I present you with my consort, Roy William Harper Jr."

Roy bowed as he heard his name, just like Garth had told him to, hoping that he wasn't bowing too deeply or not deeply enough. He jumped when he heard Aquaman's booming voice, "Prince Garth, I welcome you and your consort into Atlantis. I wish for you to once again be able to call this kingdom home." The congregation murmured quietly to themselves at the rescinded banishment, earning a small frown from the prince.

Queen Mera stood and walked over to Roy and Garth, "Good evening, Roy. It is an honor to meet the man that Prince Garth loves," Mera smiled warmly and grabbed the boys' hands.

Roy returned the queen's smile, "I'm honored to be meeting you as well, your majesty."

Orin suddenly stood up, drawing the room's attention, "We shall be adjourning to my private quarters for dinner," with a wave of his hand, he dismissed all but the dinner guests. The five of them followed the blonde man to a private banquet room just off the throne room, just outside the king and queen's private chambers. Orin sat at the head of the table and Mera took the seat to his left. The king gestured to the chair at his right for Garth to take. Roy stood awkwardly by the door before Garth nodded to the chair next to him. Tula and Kaldur took the remaining seats, discussing some surface goings on with Mera while Aquaman looked between Garth and Roy as though waiting for one of them to speak first.

When neither spoke, Orin clasped his hands together and looked at the nervous redhead, "Roy," Roy jumped and looked at the king of Atlantis, eyes wide with fear, "how is Oliver?"

"He's, um, fine?" Roy looked towards Garth for help, but found none as the prince was now discussing the food with a server.

"Good. And you? How is the hero business going for you?"

"Great! Excited to go solo."

Garth turned towards Orin, satisfied that the menu wouldn't kill Roy, "We're both fine, Orin. How did you find out about us?" Roy sighed in relief as the king turned his attention to Garth.

"Well, Garth, I heard from Dove, who heard from Ice, who heard from Vigilante, who heard from Stargirl, who heard from Supergirl, who heard from Superboy, who overheard Nightwing talking about you two to the Flash."

"Oh, well, alright then," Garth shrugged and accepted the fact that their friends were just discussing their personal lives while internally Roy was already creating a hit list. The first two targets, Richard and Wallace.

The small talk continued until their food arrived, which was some strange green stuff that Garth claimed was basically a pasta made with seaweed.

"Garth, now that you are no longer banished, we should discuss the princely duties that you must attend to once again."

Garth coughed, choking on his food and trying to wash it down with the wine that had been imported from the surface for the occasion, "Excuse me, your majesty?"

Orin raised an eyebrow at him, "Your princely duties, Garth. You can't expect to take up the title of prince again without the responsibilities as well."

Mera, Tula, and Kaldur all froze, staring at the scene in front of them. Roy took a huge gulp of wine from his glass, preparing himself for what might be coming next.

"Orin, I do not wish to seem ungrateful, but my duties now consist of being a hero, not being a prince."

"That is fine, you can easily be both," Orin shrugged, eating his meal nonchalantly.

"But aren't there certain princely duties I cannot attend to. For…reasons," Garth nodded his head towards Roy.

Orin chuckled, "Garth, I am not expecting you to return to your full princely duties. Only minor issues having to do with international relations. I don't expect you to produce an heir for the kingdom," Roy choked on his food, causing Garth and Orin to glance at him in shock, "…or marry for alliances." Roy pounded on his chest in an attempt to dislodge the food caught in his throat.

Garth rubbed his back in an attempt to calm down his breathing and turned back to Orin, "Are you sure the people are alright with this arrangement?"

"When I heard you had found a consort on the surface, I knew that you had been away from home for far too long."

Garth knitted his brows together and Roy turned sharply to glare at the king, "Now wait just a minute!"

King Orin held up his hand, stopping the redhead from saying anymore, "Not to say there is anything wrong with you, Roy, it's just that Atlanteans do not tend to be attracted to those who live on the surface." Roy said no more, but still kept his glare on Aquaman.

Mera spoke up then, softly and calmly, "Garth, the people will accept you back because the king has ordered it. And they will accept Roy as your consort because we have accepted it."

Garth nodded, turning his gaze to his now empty plate, "I hope you are right, Mera. I do not wish to make the people of Atlantis unhappy."

"Well, you could never make me unhappy," silence reigned for some time while the servers brought out dessert for the group. "So, when will you two be getting married?" Mera looked at the two men, a slight grin on her face as she watched their calm expressions turn into ones of panic.

"Oh, uh," Garth glanced at Roy nervously. He would be ready to commit himself to the archer at anytime, but he was pretty sure that Roy had some commitment issues. With how long it had taken the redhead to even be willing to tell their friends of their relationship, not to mention how long it took for him to tell Ollie, Garth wasn't willing to push him any further into the relationship. The raven haired man was waiting for Roy to take the step, "We have no plans to get married at the moment."

Mera raised an eyebrow at the two, "Oh, well, when you decide to, let me know. I'll be sure that you two have the perfect, royal Atlantean wedding." Garth nodded, glancing at the panic stricken face of his boyfriend and knew that he had been one hundred percent correct about not trying to make that move first. "On the surface of course," the queen mistook Roy's distress for worry for the potential wedding guests from the surface.

"Thank you, Mera. We would be happy to have you planning our future wedding," Garth elbowed Roy.

"Oh, uh, yeah…thanks," he turned back to the dessert, picking at it with the trident like fork. The room quieted and the six of them finished their dinners before adjourning to the king's study.

The rest of the evening consisted of mainly small talk, the serious conversation left behind at the dinner table. Roy breathed a sigh of relief as the three royals exchanged goodbyes. He caught his breath as Queen Mera wrapped him in a hug.

"Take care of him, Roy," the archer relaxed and nodded, loosely wrapping his arms around her before she pulled away.

Kaldur and Tula saw them to the T-ship and said they would see them the next day for team training. Roy looked through the window of the sub, watching the water pour in, and saw Mera and Orin waving them off with small smiles on their faces.

"See, was that so bad?" Roy jumped at the sound of Garth's voice over the headset.

"It was nice actually. A little bit awkward," Garth chuckled at him, "but Orin and Mera really are great. I'm sorry I doubted them."

Garth smiled and turned his attention back to piloting the ship. His family was complete again.


End file.
